Alvaro suffered a bit of a setback after a comfrotable start to FP1, when negotiating a chicane. He was thrown from his Aprilia due...

Alvaro suffered a bit of a setback after a comfrotable start to FP1, when negotiating a chicane. He was thrown from his Aprilia due to a problem with the engine, and there was little that he could do to avoid a crash. He finished the session in third place after returning to the garage, assessing his condition and waiting for the second bike to be set up, although he is suffering from a strong ache in his right elbow. Here’s what he said…

“I had a problem with the bike at the end of the back straight. The rear locked up and I was spat off the bike. I took a hard hit on my arm, but I was able to continue and ride the second bike. However, at the end of the session the bruising stiffened up, and it was hard to brake and move the bike. We hardly tried anything today, as we already had a good setting from last year. We wanted to work on this year’s setting, but we were about to use it just as I crashed. The track was dirty and that meant that the times weren’t so good, but we’re not far from the top spot and we were able to pick up the pace again after the crash.”